Kit Review

Straight build

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Detail shots (1/5)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Detail shots (2/5)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Detail shots (3/5)

Detail shots

Alongside the original version.

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - The base color and body color are barely any different, though the seals' colors have impro

The base color and body color are barely any different,
though the seals' colors have improved slightly.

The blue molded color is pretty much unchanged too.

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - The molded color on the joints, weapon parts, and side rail guns has shifted slightly towar

The molded color on the joints, weapon parts, and side rail guns has shifted slightly toward blue.

Joint Part B is included for use with a stand.

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Aerial firing pose (1/3)

Aerial firing pose

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Two-handed shooting pose (1/3)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Two-handed shooting pose (2/3)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Two-handed shooting pose (3/3)

Two-handed firing pose

Beam saber pose

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Freedom's signature full-burst pose (1/4)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. - Freedom's signature full-burst pose (2/4)

Freedom's signature full-burst pose

Alongside the HG Justice Gundam Remaster Ver.

The star of Gundam SEED, Freedom Gundam, has been released as an HG Remaster Ver. It's one of the later entries in the Remaster series, and it's a kit that leaves me a little puzzled..

The reason is exactly what you can see in the comparison photos above — there's almost no change in molded color compared to the original. The white base color, the blue wings, the dark navy body — they all look identical to the original. There might be the tiniest of differences, but since even the same kit can have production tolerances, you'd have to consider them essentially the same molded color. The only real changes are that the gray on the weapons and rail gun areas got a touch darker, and the joints were switched to metallic molding.

With things being what they are, it's nearly impossible to tell the two apart just by looking at them — you'd practically have to check whether the seals are included or not to tell which kit is which. It's hard to understand why Freedom alone ended up with so little changed. You could make the excuse that the original's molded colors were already so perfect there was nothing left to improve... but honestly, I can't help suspecting they just didn't put much effort into it since it was one of the last ones out the door.

On the plus side, thanks to the new metallic joint molding, the joint strength is noticeably tighter than the original. That said, just like the previous Justice Gundam Remaster Ver., the joints feel excessively stiff, so it's hard to say the articulation has actually improved. In fact, when you apply force to move the joints, the beam saber handle — which is only loosely attached to the side skirt — tends to pop off even more easily. Sturdy is good, but too much of anything is never a good thing.

Anyway, the kit itself isn't bad by any means... but if you're thinking about upgrading to the Remaster Ver., there are some things that just don't sit right. So I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who already owns the original HG Freedom Gundam, but if you're building an HG-grade Freedom for the first time, the Remaster Ver. is still the newer release and worth going with. :-)

HG Freedom Gundam Remaster Ver. | 2012. 2 | ¥1,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.